Babatomiwa Moses Owojaiye

ANOTHER SOLDIER, DR. STEPHEN MUTUKU SESI HAS GONE HOME!

The body of our Lord Jesus Christ in Africa and indeed world over has lost another one of its true sons. He was a Christian in the true sense of it, a committed and humble servant of Christ, a servant- leader to the core, a pastor, a scholar of no small measure, and a family man of exemplary model. Our own Dr. Stephen Mutuku Sesi had gone “home”; he had gone to be with the Lord. Dr. Sesi went on to glory yesterday November 3rd, 2011. The news of his death came to our community, Africa International University (formerly Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology – NEGST) from no other person than our Vice- Chancellor, Dr. Douglas Carew. Dr. Sesi gave in to death after a long struggle with cancer of the pancreas and other complications related to it.

Dr. Sesi was an ordained minister of the Africa Inland Church (AIC) Kenya where he labored as a pastor and once served as a District Administrator. According to The Journey, “Dr. Sesi taught for many years as a lecturer in Islamic studies and was once the chairman of the Department of Missions for The Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST). He was also the President of the Makobe Children’s Home, an AIDs orphanage in Shimba Hills, Kenya.”[1]

Rev. Stephen Sesi earned his PhD degree in Intercultural Studies with bias in Islamics from the famous Fuller Theological Seminary. He will be greatly missed by his family, country – Kenya, the Church in Africa, students, colleagues and friends. Sesi was one of the few (evangelical) Christian Islamicists we have in Africa. His interest in the area of Christian-Muslim relations was not hidden. Dr. Sesi was passionate about how we as Christians should relate with our Muslim brothers and sisters and how we can lovingly tell them about Jesus Christ. In what could be deemed as one of his last scholarly interactions with colleagues before his struggles with cancer began, Dr. Sesi was one of the 50 scholars who attended the International Academic Conference on African Christian and Islam held in Accra, Ghana from 6th to 10 July, 2010 – a true confirmation of his passion for Muslim outreach.

Until death, Dr. Sesi was the Acting Director of the Institute for the Study of African Realities (ISAR), one of the three constituent schools of Africa International University. Humanly speaking, and considering the unceasing tension between Christians and Muslims in most part of Africa, one would have thought that now is the best time to have the likes of Sesi in the strategic ministry of the Christian Muslim relations of the Church in Africa. But our God know the best! The words of Dr. Douglas Carew are fitting consolation for us in times such as this: “the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. Even as we mourn at this time we affirm with Job, “I know my redeemer lives,” and stand in the assurance that our Lord Jesus is “the resurrection and the Life.”

Let us pray that God will raise more disciples of Christ and labourers in His vineyard like Sesi for His Church in Africa and indeed for His Church around the world. Dr. Stephen Mutuku Sesi is survived by his wife Dr. Josephine Mutuku, and three sons – James, Judah, and Jesse. Indeed, to God be the glory for a life so impact -full and a life well spent!